AC Milan Head Coach Massimiliano Allegri has stated that he is not envious of Liverpool's significant spending in the transfer market, ahead of their pre-season clash in Hong Kong. The two teams are set to face off at Kai Tak Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd of 50,000 fans.
Allegri's comments came in response to questions about Liverpool's recent acquisitions, including Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili. Liverpool's spending spree this summer has exceeded €300 million. In contrast, Milan have brought in veteran midfielder Luka Modric, Samuele Ricci, and Pervis Estupinan. Estupinan recently joined the team from Brighton & Hove Albion.
"I'm not envious because the club is doing good work in the transfer market," Allegri said. "Estupinan has arrived and he'll be important for us. Now we need to find more players who are good and suited to our squad". He also praised Modric, calling him "a champion and an extraordinary player from a technical point of view" and stated that Modric "will be an example for everyone both on and off the pitch". However, Modric is not with the team in Hong Kong.
Milan is coming off a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in Singapore. Allegri acknowledged that the match against Liverpool would be a "difficult test" of his team's overall attacking and defensive capabilities. He emphasized the importance of physical conditioning and building tactical understanding through training. "Tomorrow we face Liverpool, the champions of England, who have won both the league and the Champions League," Allegri said. "It's an important test, and we need to put in a better performance than we did against Arsenal".
Despite the loss to Arsenal, Allegri was pleased with his team's defensive performance. "Against the Gunners, we played a good defensive game and had attacking opportunities that we didn't capitalize on, but for now, that's fine," he said. He also liked Rafael Leao's performance as a centre-forward in the match against Arsenal and hinted that he might continue to play him in that role. "I liked him against Arsenal, both him and the rest of the team," Allegri said. "We played a good game defensively and could have been more effective in front of goal, but we created some chances".
Allegri is also looking forward to the atmosphere at the Kai Tak Stadium. He believes that playing in front of a larger crowd will motivate his players to perform better. "The support of the fans changes the attitude of the team," Allegri said. "They're going to be very motivated, and it's important for them". He also noted that he has great memories of Hong Kong, having coached Juventus in the city five years ago. "We played in the same stadium where we're training today, while tomorrow we'll be in the new one," Allegri said. "I know there are many Milan fans here, and we want to give our all to make them happy".
Milan's training session in Hong Kong was disrupted by heavy rain and lightning.
